Many types of input devices are presently available for performing operations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touch panels, touch screens and the like. Touch sensitive devices, and touch screens in particular, are quite popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their affordable prices. A touch sensitive device can include a touch panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch sensitive surface, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) that can be positioned partially or fully behind the panel so that the touch sensitive surface can cover at least a portion of the viewable area of the display device. The touch sensitive device can allow a user to perform various functions by touching or hovering over the touch panel using a finger, stylus or other object at a location often dictated by a user interface (UI) being displayed by the display device. In general, the touch sensitive device can recognize a touch or hover event and the position of the event on the touch panel, and the computing system can then interpret the event in accordance with the display appearing at the time of the event, and thereafter can perform one or more actions based on the event.
An unwanted capacitance can arise between conductive components in close proximity in a touch sensitive device. This capacitance, called parasitic capacitance, can adversely affect how accurately a touch or hover event is recognized in the device. Parasitic capacitance can be particularly problematic when the touch or hover event is based on self capacitance.